Platon Mamatov, 41, signed a contract in April to return to Ukraine after spending six months at the front last year. He said people in his native Urals city of Ekaterinburg often approach him to offer help and support when they see him in uniform. While not everyone supports the invasion, there’s been a “consolidation of society” behind the army, he said.

Mamatov, a former political strategist, said he collects money from Russians through a Telegram channel to buy items like drones, bulletproof vests and medicines for frontline troops.

Donations grow bigger every month, he said, because people understand this is “our common war.”